That’s Your 100th Mistress, Time to Leave You - Chapter 52: Chapter 52

The plane tore through the sky. As soon as it landed, Sheldon rushed straight to his company, swiftly tackling the mountain of work that had piled up. For two whole months, he practically lived in his office, never once stepping foot into his villa.
Jesse and the others were worried about his condition. They decided to check on him, only to see him being taken away in an ambulance. The secretary explained, "Mr. Gifford has been pushing himself too hard, barely sleeping or eating. The longest he's slept is two hours a night. He was in a meeting just now when he suddenly coughed up blood and collapsed."
Shocked, his friends immediately followed him to the hospital. Three hours later, Sheldon slowly regained consciousness in a standard hospital room. Jesse's expression was grim. "Sheldon, what the hell happened? You went abroad and came back missing a kidney?"
The others were stunned. "What? Weren't you just chasing after your wife?"
"Wait … don't tell me … was it her? Did she really do this to you?"
Sheldon's face was pale, his lips devoid of color. "I gave it to her willingly."
His friends fell silent. After a long pause, someone hesitantly asked, "Even after all that, she didn't come back with you?"
"Yeah, man. Everyone knew about the way you went after her. Your love for her was undeniable."
Sheldon let out a weak, bitter smile. "Maybe this is just karma for taking true love for granted."
Briella had once loved him with all her heart, yet he had repaid her with schemes and baseless resentment. Mistake after mistake, he had lost her forever and that was his fate to bear."
His friends were furious. "Even so, she was way too ruthless."
"A kidney, man! Do you know how important that is? And she just took it like that? She has no gratitude at all?"
Sheldon shook his head. "If it weren't for me, she wouldn't have needed a transplant in the first place."
His friends still felt it was unfair, mumbling complaints under their breath. Suddenly, Sheldon turned his head sharply, his gaze as sharp as a knife. "I was the one who wronged her. She did nothing wrong. If I hear any of you badmouthing her again, don't blame me for forgetting our friendship."
His friends finally shut their mouths. Later, Sheldon stayed in the hospital for a week. The day he was discharged happened to be Lilia's death anniversary. He bought a bouquet of flowers and drove to the cemetery. The girl in the photo had a bright smile, showing no signs of depression.
Sheldon placed the flowers down and spoke to himself. "If you had told me sooner, things might have been different."
Strangely, even as he sat in front of his childhood friend's grave, the face that appeared in his mind was Briella's.
Sheldon remembered their first meeting at Briella's house. Her father had invited some scholarship students over and she had been swinging on a garden swing, surrounded by blooming roses. Yet, none of them could compare to her. He had been so mesmerized watching from the corridor that he hadn't even noticed when Briella approached him. "So, you're the Sheldon my dad keeps talking about. You're really handsome."
Later, she transferred to his school. On the very first day, she showed up in his class with an Apple Jack rose and forced it into his hands. "I like you. If you say yes, you're my boyfriend. If you say no, then you'll be my boyfriend in the future."
Briella's love was bold and fearless. It made Sheldon blush, flustered. If he was honest with himself, he had been secretly thrilled. But she was a privileged princess, while he was just a poor scholarship student. How could he ever be worthy of her? So, he had run from his feelings.
Then Lilia had shown up with bruises, crying and accusing Briella of hurting her. He had chosen to believe it. She wasn't as perfect as she seemed. She was a good actress. Or so he told himself. It was the perfect excuse to avoid his own inferiority.
After Lilia's suicide, he had all the justification he needed to paint Briella as the villain. Years later, the girl on the swing had become nothing more than a heartless monster in his mind. But if he truly despised her, why had he been willing to give up everything to buy her back? If he really wanted revenge, there were a thousand other ways to make her suffer. Sheldon stood up and dusted himself off. "Lilia, I won't be coming back anymore."
In the end, he resented her too. After leaving the cemetery, Sheldon headed straight to a business dinner with his partners. Because of the Law family's suppression, negotiations had been difficult and the alcohol flowed freely.
Briella didn't like the smell of alcohol, so he used to avoid drinking whenever possible. But now, he didn't refuse a single drink. By the end of the dinner, he had secured the deal, but he was also completely drunk. In his daze, he instinctively called out, "Ella, get me some water."
A glass of ice water was splashed over his head. Sheldon shivered, sobering up a bit. "Celia?"
That woman slapped him across the face. Sheldon was now completely sober. "What's wrong with you?"
Celia's face was ice-cold. "Sheldon, you bastard. You used me as a substitute!" She had been in a neighboring private room when someone mentioned his past. That's when she learned the truth, out of all the wealthy heiresses who pursued him, he had chosen her because she looked like his dead childhood friend. It was the ultimate humiliation. Even worse than watching him chase after Briella.
Celia sneered. "I despise men who play these pathetic games. Sheldon, you just wait ... " Before she could finish, his hand shot out and grabbed her by the throat. His eyes were cold and dangerous. "I haven't even settled the score for what you did to Briella and now you're digging up old wounds?"
This time, Sheldon wasn't blinded by rage. Celia struggled a few times before he finally let go. She clutched her neck, laughing mockingly. "Pathetic. You couldn't get her back, so now you want to act like some tragic lover? I'll never forget how you humiliated me. Ever."
Sheldon calmly wiped his face with a tissue, his expression dark. "Good. Then let's see who's more ruthless." He was still the same Sheldon Gifford, just no longer madly obsessed with Briella Jacquin. Now that he and Celia had completely torn off their masks, they would be eternal enemies.